CFA springboard for Eelam project – War on terror revisited

Had the UNP consulted armed forces and police top brass, the Norwegian arranged Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) wouldn’t have been such a one-sided arrangement. Instead of taking the service chiefs into confidence in the run-up to the signing of the CFA, the UNP denied them an opportunity, at least to discuss issues relating to national security.

The UNP believed that Western powers and India would come to Sri Lanka’s rescue if the LTTE resumed hostilities. The then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and his team boasted of the UNP-led UNF government having put an international safety net in place. This was primarily due to the misconception that the UNP could depend on the US and India for swift military assistance. Minister Milinda Moragoda engaged in a dialogue with India, which the UNP believed would pave the way for a security pact with India.

The UNP obviously felt that targeting of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) operatives and informants wasn’t an issue serious enough to derail the Oslo-led negotiating process.

Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle, one-time head of the DMI and the Commander of the Army at the time of the signing of the CFA, told ‘The Island’ recently that the exposure of some of those involved in DMI operations due to the police raid on a ‘safe house’ at Millennium City, Athurugiriya, operated by the DMI, facilitated LTTE operations. Those at the helm of the decision making process had not realised the LTTE’s strategy of using the CFA to further its cause, Lt. Gen. Balagalle said.

Commenting on the shocking exposure of the DMI safe house, veteran lawyer Gomin Dayasri said that today’s VIPs were yesterday’s villains.

The LTTE exploited the CFA underwritten by Norway, the US, the EU and Japan. It called for an Indian venue for peace talks, even before the signing of the agreement. Norway obviously backed the LTTE move, though Sri Lanka declined to raise issue with India on the LTTE’s behalf. Although the LTTE failed in its bid to involve India, the CFA paved the way for the group to consolidate its power in areas under its control. Nothing would have pleased the LTTE more than the CFA recognising its rights to carry arms, while all rival groups were to be disarmed.

Disarming Tamil groups

The CFA envisaged disarming Tamil para-military groups within 30 days of its implementation. The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), which had two representatives in Parliament, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), which had one MP, and the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) of Varadharaja Perumal, were told that the weapons that had been given to them for protection against the LTTE, would now be taken back. The government had instead offered to absorb their cadres into the armed forces and post them outside the northeast. The pleas of those groups, which had been in the democratic mainstream since the signing of the July 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, that they were registered political parties, not paramilitaries, fell on deaf ears. They declared that none of their cadres would join the military, and instead asked for police protection to carry out their political work in the North.

The government failed to realise the danger in disarming para-military groups. In fact, the government ignored that the military, particularly the DMI needed the support of Tamils, including ex-LTTE cadres to carry out its operations. Nothing could have been as foolish as exposing those who risked their lives. But, the UNP was determined to pursue negotiations even at the expense of national security; it didn’t hesitate to terminate a long standing arrangement between Tamil para-military groups and the then State Minister for Defence, Ranjan Wijeratne. The Premadasa government swiftly finalised an agreement with TELO, PLOTE, EPDP and EPRLF soon after the LTTE launched eelam war II in the second week of June 1990. The Ranjan Wijeratne Foundation associated itself with the recent launch of ‘Gota’s War’ by ‘The Island’ columnist, C. A. Chandraprema, who has dealt with the setting up of various Tamil groups and the gradual expansion of their operations, before the LTTE gained superiority over it rivals.

Tamil groups experienced severe difficulties after India withdrew its troops on March 2, 1990, leaving them at the mercy of the LTTE, which received tactical backing from the Sri Lankan military to conduct operations against them. (The issue would be dealt in detail in a separate installment). After the collapse of the 14-month long Premadasa-Prabhakaran honeymoon in June 1990, the government reached an agreement with those opposed to the LTTE. The UNP unilaterally abrogated that pact after signing of the CFA with the LTTE in February 2002.

Debilitating intelligence

Having neutralised rival Tamil groups, the LTTE set the stage for a series of operations to kill key operatives. Retired Senior DIG Merril Gunaratne, one-time Director General of Intelligence pointed out in ‘Cop in the crossfire’ that the LTTE had killed agents and informants of security forces systematically, so that in case of a resumption of hostilities, the military would have been starved of much needed intelligence. Gunaratne, who served as the Defence Advisor (2202-2004) placed the number of civilian informants and service personnel killed during this period at 24 and 22 respectively. According to him, Inspector Thabrew was killed at the Dehiwala police station by an LTTE cadre released after the signing of the CFA.

In spite of the conclusion of the conflict in May, 2009, the government is yet to examine the circumstances that brought about the CFA. Unfortunately, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), too, failed to establish the events leading to the signing of the CFA, which created a situation which helped theLTTE inch towards its goal.

Kumar Rupesinghe, who was among the audience at the launch of ‘Gota’s war’, is perhaps one of those closely associated with the Norwegian project. The one-time NGO guru was a proponent of the Norwegian initiative before he fell out with the Norwegians in 2005 over policy differences. Rupesinghe, in an exclusive interview with one-time Norwegian peace envoy spearheading the Sri Lankan initiative, Erik Solheim, revealed the circumstances that had led to the signing of the CFA. ‘Negotiating Peace in Sri Lanka: Efforts, Failures and Lessons’ sponsored by Norway, Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies divulged what had given rise to the CFA.

The following query posed by Rupesinghe and Solhim’s response thereto exposed those who had handled the peace process on behalf of Sri Lanka:

Rupesinghe: “Was there a clear text that you took to the two parties? How did the actual CFA itself come about?”

Solheim: “I had a long discussion with Anton Balasingham in London, then with government leaders like G.L. Peiris, Milinda Moragoda and others in Colombo about the main requirements. We spent tens of hours discussing issues and concerns and then looking at the text. The two parties made a lot of changes and brought it back to us and it was discussed orally. Then again, I drafted a new proposal which took about two months. It was signed on February 22, 2002. A period of 6 to 8 weeks were spent in discussion and writing the agreement (page 338).

If the LTTE had not overestimated its conventional military capability, it could have easily reached an understanding with the Rajapaksas to retain the CFA. Fortunately, the LTTE spurned the opportunity. ‘Gota’s War’ reveals an abortive effort made by the President to negotiate a deal. A clandestine visit undertaken by Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga to LTTE-held territory amidst a wave of attacks revealed the readiness on the part of those in authority to engage the LTTE. In Chapter 49 (Squaring with India) Chandraprema says: “On 24th March 2006, presidential secretary, Lalith Weeratunga went to Arippu, Mannar on a secret mission to meet LTTE leaders in a vehicle belonging to an NGO called Sevalanka. He would have claimed to be an employee of Sevalanka if he was stopped and questioned at checkpoints. After his vehicle entered LTTE territory, he was escorted to the rendezvous by gun-wielding LTTE motorcycle outriders. Weeratunga had lunch with a senior LTTE functionary by the name of Poovannan and came back to Colombo.”

But Weeratunga wasn’t the only one to meet the LTTE on behalf of the Rajapaksa government to explore the possibility of securing an agreement with the organisation, in a bid to avert eelam war IV. Rupasinghe, about a week before a suicide cadre targeted the Defence Secretary in Colombo while he was on his way to office, also met LTTE leaders.

Although Chandraprema, in his address at the launch of Gota’s War revealed that it was Rupasinghe, one-time most influential Norwegian contacts here, who had suggested that he should, author a book on the eelam conflict, no mention was made of Rupasinghe’s clandestine visit to the Vanni in Sep. 2006! Rupasinghe confirmed his secret bid and explained the circumstances in which he had met the LTTE, much to the anger of the Norwegians. Rupasinghe told ‘The Island’ that his intention had been to help President Rajapaksa settle the national issue through negotiations. “My intention was to avert an all out war. Unfortunately, the LTTE was of the opinion that it could overwhelm the military in a swift offensive.”

The LTTE believed that the CFA would give it the much needed respite to regroup, rearm and retrain following a series of battles in the Northern Province. Although the LTTE remained strong in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, it needed a substantial increase in its conventional fighting capability, to prepare for the next round of fighting.

The LTTE wouldn’t have assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in early August 2005 if it had not bee ready to face the Sri Lankan military. The government remained committed to the CFA in spite of the grave provocation mostly due to international pressure. Even after the LTTE had made an attempt on the life of the then Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka in April 2006, the government reiterated its commitment to the CFA. A deeply embarrassed Rajapaksa government ordered a few face-saving air strikes targeting LTTE-held Sampoor. But, the fact remains that the government was willing to negotiate with the LTTE, even after an attempt on its army commander’s life and the assassination of Sri Lanka’s illustrious Foreign Minister Kadirgamar.

Veteran career diplomat Dr. John Gooneratne, who had been with the Secretariat for Coordinating the People Process (SCOPP) since its inception in January 2002 till May 2006, made a revelation before the LLRC on September 15, 2010. He headed the SCOPP before leaving it. Unfortunately, Gooneratne’s evidence didn’t receive the coverage it really deserved. He disclosed that in drafting the CFA, the following provisions that the government wished to have included in the CFA had not been accommodated:

(A) There was no reference to the need for the GoSL and the LTTE to use the ceasefire to pave the way for talks to find a negotiated solution

(B) Specific reference to the prohibition of unlawful importation of arms, ammunition and other material

(C) LTTE members were to be allowed to do political work in government controlled areas, but other political parties were not allowed to work in LTTE-controlled areas in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu

(D) Forcible conscription

In spite of the Norwegians refusing to take Sri Lanka’s concerns into consideration, Wickremesinghe went ahead with the CFA. The LLRC squandered an opportunity to expose the Norwegians by failing to summon Ranil Wickremesinghe, Milinda Moragoda and Prof. G. L. Peiris, subsequent to Gooneratne’s revelation.

It would be important to examine the political situation in Colombo at the time the Norwegians initiated talks with the UNP, regarding the CFA. Perhaps, the most crucial factor was that the TULF-led four-member Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had declared the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamil speaking people at future negotiations with the government. The announcement was made in October 2001 ahead of the Dec 5, 2001 General Election. Having consulted the LTTE, the TNA assured that the group wouldn’t mount major operations ahead of the parliamentary polls. Despite the TNA’s assurance, the LTTE assassinated an ex-police officer, Thambirasa Jayakumar (48) contesting the Batticaloa District on the UNP ticket. He was the first candidate to be killed during the polls campaign. At the next General Election, the TNA lost its right to choose candidates. The LTTE had the final say regarding all nominees, as it tightened its grip on the TNA, which remained a prisoner until the annihilation of the LTTE fighting cadre.

The TNA regained its right to represent Tamil speaking people in negotiations in May, 2009, when troops finished off the LTTE on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon. Had the LTTE managed to secure a truce with the intervention of Western powers as the army approached its last stronghold on the Vanni east front, the TNA would still have been playing a secondary role. In fact, the TNA would have had nothing to say other than reiterating again that the LTTE would represent Tamil speaking people at future negotiations.

About this Blog

This blog concerns the Sri Lankans fight against LTTE terrorism.LTTE is a ruthless terror outfit which fights for an ethnically pure, separate Tamil homeland for Tamils living in Sri Lanka since 1983. The outfit is well known for its extreme tribalism and nefarious crimes against soft targets specially the women and children. During its two and half decade long terrorist war against Sri Lankan people, LTTE has killed over 70,000 people mostly civilians in its ethnic cleansing raids, indiscriminate bomb attacks, suicide blasts, etc. LTTE is also in top of the UN's list of shame for using child soldiers in war. As a tactical measure the outfit uses only young female cadres and male child soldiers for the front lines.

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Calander

The Eelam bubble

The Tamil diaspora still talk of winning the "Eelam" war, of seeing "the light at the end of the tunnel of a mythical Tamil state" , even as six elite army divisions strategically lay siege to the Wanni heartland. As it is there is a light, that of a fast-approaching express train that would steam roll the "Eealm" myth to the sun baked Wanni floor forever.

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Their sacrifice will not be in vain….

"I am a Sri Lankan and I am free today because someone fought, bled or died in my place. I vow that as long as there is breath in my body that that their sacrifice will not be in vain."

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Smell Of Victory

Smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing in the world smells like that.I love the smell of napalm in the morning.One time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one enemy body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end.
Apocalypse Now(1979)

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Give to those who have given

They died for something that may be trivial to many. A piece of high ground on a salty sand dune, or a landing area in a landmine filled beach, or simply protecting a cadjan bunker in some remote corner of the island.
But when dusk settles on this protracted war, every sacrifice these thousands made will have a reason and purpose.
We should pay tribute to all our fallen heroes who gave their today for our tomorrow.

We are pleased to announce that our new website,www.slguardian.org, is live and ready for the world to view. We have completely redesigned our layout with simplicity, ease of use, and accessibility in mind. It will be a tool for both fulfilling our mission and helping us provide better resources to our readers.This new website will keep pace with our rapidly […]

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| The following statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission ( January 23, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The 100-day reform programme of the new government is an opportune moment for rebuilding the legal structure of Sri Lanka, a precondition for achieving the “good governance” that has been promised.The legal structure of Sri Lanka has suffere […]

| by N.S.Venkataraman ( January 23, 2015, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Several decades back, Karl Marx gave strong call to the workers that “you have nothing to lose except the chain”. This call of Karl Marx resounded across the world, as it was then appropriate to the issues and problems faced by the blue collar workmen. It resulted in the development of ve […]

| by S. Chandrasekharan( January 23, 2015, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) As expected the dead line of Jan 22, 2015 for the promulgation of a new constitution is being missed. The political parties refused to compromise and made little headway in drafting a new constitution. One whole year was wasted.Too late in the day and very close to the deadline the eig […]

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara“Is it always the same SpringWho reprises her role forever?”Neruda (The Book of Questions)( January 22, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Why were the police slower than slow in acting against marauding Parliamentarian Palitha Thevarapperuma? Wasn’t this tardiness due to the fact that the alleged miscreant is on the governing side? […]

| by Kuldip NayarFormer Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa did not regret the blood bath that the Sri Lankan Army indulged in even after the LTTE surrendered( January 21, 2015, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) New Delhi had lots to explain when Mahinda Rajpaksa was re-elected as Sri Lanka’s President for the second time. India had supplied him small arms w […]

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| by Ranil Wicramasinghe ( January 21, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) “Throughout the previous government, the judicial powers of the country was misused by the political interests. Even after war got over, the law of the country was not properly established,” Prime Minister appointed Mr. Ranil Wicramasinghe noted in a statement. “We are in the process o […]

| by Noam Chomsky( January 21, 2015, Boston, Sri Lanka Guardian) After the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, which killed 12 people including the editor and four other cartoonists, and the murder of four Jews at a kosher supermarket shortly after, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared "a war against terrorism, against jihadism, against radical Is […]

Swift, Silent & Deadly

Fear The LRRP

The LRRP has been very successful in covert operations against the LTTE terrorists in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Its members were so successful in assassinating key LTTE figures that many LTTE leaders refused to come out of their jungle bunkers before the 2002 ceasefire was implemented. After the resumption of hostilities, it is believed that the LRRP units conducted operations in the LTTE held northern province too.
The LTTE has accused the Sri Lankan Deep Penetration Units of launching attacks on LTTE leaders in their areas, although the Sri Lankan Government denies any involvement in these attacks. The teams have had success against LTTE leaders such as military intelligence leader Colonel Charls and many leaders. Other success have included observing LTTE training camps and calling in air strikes. The LRRP's successes and dedicated operators have garnered a fearful reputation among the LTTE.
The SL Army commander Gen.Sarath Fonseka had recently acknowledged that LRRP units were used to beat the LTTE at their own game.It was later revealed that LTTE, who were masters at jungle warfare refused to engage in combat and withdrew from their positions instead of holding their ground because of these elite soldiers. SL LRRP unit falls under SF3 (Special Forces 3rd Regiment)they and SF1,SF2,SF4 & Commandos played a vital role in eliminating the LTTE including V.Piribaharan a.k.a Sun God a.k.a Supreme Commander of the LTTE. LTTE according to FBI is was the most dangerous terrorist group in the world.

Things you didn’t do

Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and I dented it?

I thought you'd kill me but you didn't.

And remember the time I dragged you to the beach and you said it would rain and it did?

I thought you'd say, "I told you so", but you didn't.

Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous and you were.

I thought you'd leave me, but you didn't.

Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry pie all over your car rug.

I thought you'd hit me but you didn't.

And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal and you showed up in jeans?

I thought you'd drop me. But you didn't.

Yes, there were lots of things you didn't do.

But you put up with me and you loved me and you protected me.

There were lots of thing I wanted to make up to you when you returned from War.

But you didn't.

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President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed the IGP and Chiefs of Security Forces to arrest all those who incited racism. At the Security Council meeting where these instructions were given, Minister Mano Ganeshan, it is reported, had drawn the attention of the President to a statement made by a bikkhu in Batticaloa which, he claims, hurt the Tamil people […]

Fidel Castro is no more. He died today at the age of 90. Whether he is hero or villain, he certainly is historic. This cannot be disputed. The following article was published in the Sunday Island o December 12, 2000. It was one of the earliest articles I wrote for that newspaper. That Latin America bleeds is not news. In fact, blood-letting seems to be […]

What does a cartoonist have in common with a soccer player? Deftness, certainly. An eye for line and space. Innovation. Not all soccer players can draw and not all artists can dribble a football. Kurukulasuriya Eligious Camillus Perera could do both. He’s long since hung up his boots, but his brushes are still fresh, as is his wit, political acumen an […]

noreply@blogger.com (Malinda Seneviratne)

Silent Heros – The LRRPs’

"Stealth, bravery and a commitment to duty, these were the attributes of the men of the Sri Lankas' Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs). Going deep inside LTTE held enemy lines, danger was their watchwood & Military Skills was their only protection."

Victory Day : Lest We Forget

It was on the night of the 19th of May and dawn of 20th 2009 that Sri Lankan rid itself completely of the plague known as Tamil terrorism and became a country where there is freedom of movement for all.

Let us remember those that gave their lives to make this a reality and remember all the misguided LTTE youth who died in vain with compassion.

I had left for Jordan the day after my father’s 93rd birthday, on June 27th. He had had a party as usual, and all the reception rooms downstairs, the dining room and the rectangular verandah in front, and the large drawing room with its extensions, the round verandah giving on to the garden and the […]

The third country I visited in June 2014, in that period of quietude when nothing was moving in Sri Lanka except for an increasing sense of decline, was Jordan. I did not count it as a new country, for I had stayed overnight there in a hotel, when I was traveling to Turkey early in […]

Oddly enough, as my father was fading, the world of my other great rock in these last years, Ena, also shrank. In 2012 we had celebrated her 90th birthday in Yala, quite a large crowd though initially she had told me that she wanted only me and Shanthi Wilson. Of course she could not have […]

In retrospect it is clear that there was no hope of stopping Mahinda Rajapaksa rushing headlong into disaster, given that so many of those around him, while pursuing their own agendas, had lulled him into a false sense of security. But it still seemed necessary to try, and I did have at least one significant […]

In the month after my extended 60th birthday celebrations, I travelled extensively. This was not however to any new countries, so I remained stuck on 89 for a few months more. But I was able to get to fascinating places in countries I had been to previously. In India this was to the North East, […]

After those idyllic few days with my father at my cottage, I went to Algeria, determined to see more of the Roman remains of Africa, and if possible get to the deep desert. Years earlier I had bought guidebooks for Tunisia and Libya, which had better sites, and I had managed to get to Tunisia […]

From the start it was clear that 2014 would be a bleak year. My father was much weaker than before, and had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. We knew that this was a slow process and the doctors said there was no need for any interventions since old age was likely to do for him […]

After Ethiopia, I felt I should see the Sudan, not only in search of other aspects of the Nile, but also because I realized that it was the repository of many splendours from the Egyptian Empires. The pyramidic culture had extended far to the South, and then so had Hellenistic civilization, following the conquest of […]

Much of this series has been about my personal travels, and the slow but steady dissolution of the world I had known. To dwell only on these would however give a misleading impression of what occupied me most during the years from 2012, when I began to realize that my efforts to promote reform were […]

With Lakmahal slowly folding up as it were, and the country in decline, my principal solace in 2014 was travel. Asia and Europe I knew well, and I had been to enough of South America to feel I had seen enough of it for the moment. The Middle East too I had seen a fair […]

rajivawijesinha

Nineteen ’til I Die

"Last night it rained. And I stood under my parents’ porch and smoked. The deluge of water on the tin sheeting drowned out everything — traffic, the neighbours, the sound of the TV. Just me and the rain and the dark, like it had been on that first night in December 1990. I stepped out from the porch, and the rain put out my cigarette in an instant. I spat away the shreds of tobacco and let the rain soak me. Remembering them, as I have done a hundred thousand times in the last eighteen years.

I can remember the ridged steel flooring of the Y-8′s cargo bay like it was yesterday, digging into my arse as I sit packed in with my platoon, flying to Palay.

I remember the smell of wet sandbags on that first night on the FDL at Elephant Pass. Looking out into the black ink beyond the perimeter. Here be Tigers.

And the ten-man patrols through knee-deep water, trying to be quiet. “Kata vahapang, huththo,“

The hot, dusty days and wet, rainy nights. Mosquitoes. And being tired. So tired. Every day. All the time.

And contact. Finally. What we’d lived for, longed for, suffered for. What we’d watched in movies and read about in books. Contact. Sex for virgins. With red tracers. And the elephant sitting on my back, squeezing the breath out of my lungs as I tried to hold my rifle steady. The hammer roar of 7.62-mm fire, gunflashes blurring the distant, running figures.

None of us were over twenty, most eighteen or nineteen. Ariyaratne, the section commander, and Dias, the machine-gunner; our parents, old men of twenty-four. Combat veterans of the Sinha Rifles. The hard core.

And the killing. I remember every single one. The blood, the eyes. The smell. I remember Rohantha getting hit by the .50. I remember the sixteen-year-old bayoneted girl with the long plaited hair come loose. I remember kneeling at a tube well and washing the crusted blood out from under my finger nails.

Down time. Sitting in abandoned tin buildings in the Saltern Siding. We’d strip down to OG shorts and slippers and our Death By Bullets T-shirts. We never talked about victory, about killing Prabha, or defeating the Tigers. Our personal goals were to survive, to do well, to not let each other or our regiment down. Sura talking about the XT-250 he wanted to buy. Husni and Sanjeeva talking about girls. Dias and I cleaning guns and talking about optics.

I thought I knew them all very well, but now I realize I didn’t really. And now, sadly, I can’t recall their faces in detail. And sometimes I have to think hard to remember all nine names.

Well, it looks like it’s over now. And I wish those guys were here to see it. I wish we could all go out for a drink and talk about EPS and catch up on our lives. But it’s too late for all that. It all took too long. I wish they were all in their thirties, like me. Maybe they’d have wives, and children, or not. I wish they could walk down the road and be offered kiri bath by the trishaw drivers. I wish they were alive."